


Martial Arcs Week 2020

by KatMotif



Category: RWBY
Genre: (though I don't call it DDR but trust me it's DDR), Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Arcades, Asking Out, Aura Transfer, Baking, Beacon Doesn't Fall AU, Birthday Cake, Brown Eyed Lie Ren, Ch7 continues Ch 6, College, Coming Out, Crush at First Sight, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Does Ch6 Qualify as a Meet-Cute?, Empathic Ren, Established Relationship, First Dates, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Get Together, Grief/Mourning, Hinted Renorarc, Hunters & Hunting, Hunting Animals, Hunting for food, Jaune Tries His Best, Jaune Trying to Impress Ren, Jaune's Birthday is Feb 29th until they state otherwise, M/M, Martial Arcs Week, Meet-Cute, Minor Violence, Modern AU, Nonbinary Lie Ren, Past Arkos, Pre-Relationship, Psych Major Ren, Psychic Empathy, Psychic Ren, RWBY briefly appears and heckles the boys with Pyrrha and Nora lol, Ren and Nora were foster kids hc, Ren is a DDR fiend, Renorarc but Martial Arcs focused, Sushi, Tags to be added, Team RNJR - Freeform, Team as Family, Team as Home, These will be all over the place with where they're at, Trans Jaune Arc, Undecided Major Jaune, accidental injury, idk if that's a thing but it happens here and i'm rolling with it, they use their semblances on each other at the same time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27338824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatMotif/pseuds/KatMotif
Summary: Look who's doing another RWBY ship week challenge! A week of fics about two soft boy huntsmen being in love! A week of fics with Jaune and Ren being all cute and stuff. Prompts that I'm using are listed below:1: Hunting2: Cakes3: New Abilities4: Home5: First Dates6: Modern AU7: Free Day
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Lie Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	1. Hunting

They were in between towns, but the weather was starting to turn; they had an hour at most to set up shelter before a storm set in. Judging by the way Nora’s hair was standing, up a bit more than usual, there was bound to be thunder. An encounter with some Grimm had left her rather battered, not gravely injured but definitely in need of some rest, so instead of the usual routine of her and Ren hunting for food while Jaune and Ruby set up camp, Jaune would assist Ren in hunting for food instead. Setting up shelter wouldn’t be terribly hard, the four trainee huntsmen lucking out and finding a cave just big enough for the four of them to spend the night in relative comfort.

Jaune was apprehensive; the boy was infamous amongst their friend group for being squeamish and having a weak stomach. The sight of his own blood was one thing, but unless he was used to seeing blood on someone even a nosebleed turned his stomach. He worried Ren would judge his inexperience in this aspect; a huntsmen had to be able to survive between rest stops and towns, after all. It was bad enough that he was so inexperienced when he’d started at Beacon. Now more than ever, he wasn’t sure what Ozpin (or Pyrrha, even) had seen in him as a leader.

They had a bow and some arrows they used specifically for hunting; their primary weapons had dust in their ammo, when applicable, and one didn’t often consume dust. Thankfully on the way to the cave they happened upon some rabbits, so Ren and Jaune quietly backtracked to the spot they’d seen them, and sure enough, the little lagomorphs were still hopping around the open field. Jaune swallowed hard; he liked rabbits, had never eaten one, let alone killed one, but they needed food and it seemed they were the only food source available to them. And they didn’t have time to find something else.

Then, Ren’s hand touched his shoulder. Jaune couldn’t help but jump just a bit at the sudden touch, but he realized quickly it was his teammate, as they and the rabbits were all alone here. He relaxed, feeling the distinct hum of aura in Ren’s hand; his semblance, no doubt, to calm him, but not just being sent to him, an offer in case needed.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I can handle this on my own if you can’t handle it.” Ren said, monotone in voice, but the look in his deep pink eyes soft, caring. Jaune shook his head.  
“No. No, I can do this. I have to be able to. What kind of a huntsmen would I be if I can’t even hunt for food for my teammates, let alone myself.” Jaune whispered back, shaking his head.   
“Have you ever done archery before?” Ren asked. Jaune shook his head; honestly, Jaune’s aim with firearms wasn’t _great_ , and at times he was thankful Crocea Mors hadn’t had a gun built into it. Pyrrha...had let him practice on targets with Milo in it’s rifle mode a few times, and while he improved over time, he had maybe hit a bullseye once, right before the tournament.

Shaking her from his mind, Jaune didn’t realize that Ren had taken to standing behind him, placing the bow in his hands.  
“I’ll show you.” Ren’s tone was gentle, instructive, so much like _hers_ , guiding his hands into holding the weapon properly and helping his stance as she once had. Jaune swallowed the urge to cry, _not now, not in front of Ren_.

“Aim.” Ren’s breath on the back of his neck caused Jaune to shiver, but he aimed at the biggest of the rabbits in the group, big enough for the four of them easily.  
“Let go.” With Ren’s words, Jaune released the arrow with the breath he was holding. The arrow went dead through the rabbit’s head, scattering the rest of them, but that was fine. Jaune swallowed again, not wanting to ruin the moment with his weak stomach, but also still because Ren was so close to him. He couldn’t remember the last time Ren had been this close, if he ever had, and wasn’t sure why it was making goosebumps rise on his skin.

The moment ended with Ren stepping away to grab their capture before a predator could steal it away, his knife in hand just in case.  
“You killed it.” Ren said, nodding firmly. Jaune smiled awkwardly, giving him a thumbs up.

They just made it back to camp in time to beat the downpour, heavy rain pounding the natural rocky structure they’d settled in, campfire already burning. Ren volunteered to take care of preparing the rabbit, knowing Jaune wouldn’t have the stomach to do that (he was surprised, and honestly impressed, that their leader could fight back his weakness long enough to make a kill as decisively, but maybe even they underestimated him at times). Jaune looked over Nora’s bruises, thankfully none of them deeper wounds that could potentially become infected, and likely would be gone by morning. There was a steady enough stream just outside the edge of the cave’s opening to wash away the blood. They would use every part of the animal, as Ren had been taught at a very young age. The fur would be traded in the next town, a little extra lien made there.

Ren cooked a stew, enough to maybe have leftover into the morning. The four of them huddled together eating the well improvised food, hoping quietly that the storm would only last the night. Thunder and lightning seemed to keep its distance, disappointing Nora just a tad but at least giving her aura a boost even from afar. She was the first to fall asleep, Ruby following not too long afterwards. The two boys were left awake, only the campfire and the easing rain pattering the outside of the cave with them.

Ren and Jaune exchanged a glance. They were both exhausted from all the walking, and the campfire only kept them so warm outside of their sleeping bags, but in the togetherness of the moment, there was a relative calm that gave them at least a moment's peace. Ren moved a bit closer to Jaune, leaning on him a bit, and Jaune leaned on Ren in return. The close proximity made them both a bit warmer, but they stared into the fire, not at each other.

Jaune still felt raw inside from it all; Pyrrha, Beacon, they’d lost everything overnight and were looking for answers that he wasn’t sure he’d be brave enough to face. There had to be something more to why their school had been attacked, why they were going through. Looking at Ren, he could tell the other boy was stewing in his thoughts in much the same way, maybe in a more controlled fashion, as Ren would, but nonetheless lost in his thoughts.

“Ren?” Jaune broke the silence, his voice hushed as not to wake their companions. Ren snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards him, pink eyes staring into his blue diligently.

“You did well before. By the way.” Ren replied, referring to their hunt before. Jaune nodded, smiling softly.  
“Thanks. I...I’d never done that before.” Jaune sighed. Ren smiled back.

“I could kind of tell. You were trembling as I led you.” Ren points out. Jaune’s cheeks began to burn.  
“Hey!” Jaune said in a hushed yell, “I don’t typically use ranged weapons, plus the last time I did was when…”

“When?” Ren questioned softly, his expression softening when Jaune paused. The blonde swallowed.

“When Pyrrha was teaching me how to use her rifle.” Jaune muttered, looking down. There was a silence between the two, heavy and awkward. Jaune was beginning to fight the urge to cry again when he suddenly felt Ren wordlessly take his hand into his own, locking their fingers together. Jaune returned the hold gently.

“...we’re still here.” Ren whispered. “I am still here.” 

Jaune finally allowed himself to cry. He leaned further onto Ren’s shoulder, tears streaming down his face as he quietly sobbed, mourning his partner. He felt Ren’s body shudder, his head leaning on top of Jaune’s, breathing shallow. It was Jaune’s turn on watch, and normally he’d train with that recording Pyrrha had left him, but tonight he was content to hold Ren’s hair as they both silently mourned her.

Eventually Ren fell asleep, and Jaune decided to carry him to his sleeping bag, carefully placing his teammate inside of it without waking him. Watching for a few moments to make sure Ren stayed asleep, he allowed himself to study the other’s face for a moment. It was the first time the word  _ beautiful _ crossed Jaune’s mind in regards to Ren.


	2. Cakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren bakes Jaune a cake for his birthday.

One of the memories Ren still clung to from his early childhood before Kuroyuri fell was the memory of his mother baking a cake. He could still remember her soft singing as she mixed the bowl of ingredients as he watched, and how she had him help pour it into the cake pan afterwards. He wished he could remember the actual taste of her cakes but he could still remember that he enjoyed them greatly. But since then a love of cooking and baking had been instilled in him that he’d nearly lost until getting to Beacon.

The first of his teammates to have a birthday was their leader, Jaune. It would be his first birthday away from his home, away from his rather large family, and Ren could tell it was having an affect on his mood. Jaune seemed distracted, distant, even in their studies. Truth be told, baking Jaune a cake had actually been Nora’s idea, but Ren took charge of the project, enlisting the two girls on their team to either assist Ren in the baking or distract Jaune for a few hours so it could be done. Nora jumped at the chance to help Ren bake the cake (she promised she wouldn’t eat half the batter this time) and Pyrrha dragged Jaune off to spar (as they would on Saturdays, anyway).

Not only was this Jaune’s first birthday away from home, however; his actual birthday only came once every four years, February 29th. He told his team how his family would celebrate it on the 28th of February or the 1st of March depending on the year, but this was a special opportunity indeed. Ren wanted to make a good impression on the leader of his team, to see the three of them as another family he had. 

“I think it’s cute that you wanna bake a cake for Jaune.” Nora mused as she sprayed the cake tin with the cooking spray for Ren while he stirred the ingredients, what was to be a chocolate cake made from scratch, like his mother had made years ago. 

“How do you mean?” Ren asked, smiling a bit. 

“It’s cute. It was a while before you baked one for me.” Nora added.

“Well, that’s because we were constantly on the move before we found somewhere to train, Nora.” Ren pointed out; it was kind of hard to bake a proper cake over an open campfire especially with the inexperience Ren had had at the time.

“True...but still. I think it’s really sweet. And if he doesn’t appreciate it I’m gonna bop him on the head.” Nora stated, the ending threat a teasing jest but not something Ren would’ve ruled out Nora actually carrying out.

“He will,” Ren replied, sighing.

“We don’t usually spar this long, Pyr, I’m getting kind of tired.” Jaune whined, sitting on the rooftop that he and Pyrrha always trained on. Pyrrha stood over him, trying to hide her own exhaustion. Her scroll hadn’t received the telltale notification from Nora yet, the signal to bring Jaune back to their dorm room. Placing her hands on her hips and panting herself, she smiled at him.

“Okay, we’ll take a short break. Let’s go to the cafeteria and get some sandwiches and sports drinks.” Pyrrha offered. Jaune sighed.

“Can I go take a nap?” He asked. Pyrrha shook her head with a slight panic.

“No, no, not yet. Uh, I think...Nora said she wanted to...do some homework in silence or something.”

“She blasts heavy metal on her headset when she’s studying usually.” Jaune pointed out, “Not sure how she does it, but she does it.”

“Well, she said she wanted some privacy!” Pyrrha stammered.

“And what’s Ren doing?” Jaune asked with an arched brow.

“Probably napping. Or helping Nora study.” At Pyrrha’s last statement, Jaune narrowed his eyes for a moment at Pyrrha, and for a moment, the redhead was sure the jig was up, and the surprise would be spoiled. But then his stomach growled loudly.

“...okay, fine. Let’s get sandwiches. I hope there’s still some egg salad ones left.” Jaune surrendered to the will of his rumbling tummy and Pyrrha breathed a sigh of relief, helping him off the ground. 

_ Oh, I hope it won’t be too much longer… _

“Orange Buttercream frosting?” Nora asked, watching Ren prepare the frosting as the chocolate cake cooled on the rack. “That’s kinda weird.”

“It works well, plus I distinctly remember Jaune saying that is what his mother would make when he was younger for his birthdays. On the off years he’d get a store-bought cupcake or something, but on the leap years she’d go out of her way to make it for him.”

“I mean, I kinda get it.” Nora mused, snacking on some of the leftover orange (Ren had only needed a few tablespoons of juice juice and a teaspoon of the zest, after all). “Those chocolate oranges you smash on the table before eating were always really good. We should get some.”

“Actually I did get one to decorate the top of the cake with.” Ren mentioned offhandedly, causing his partner to squeal excitedly.

“Oh Renny, this is gonna be so good. I’m almost jealous.”

Jaune sighed in relief when Pyrrha finally said they could go back to their dorm room, long since having consumed sandwiches and at least three cups of hot cocoa, watching her text on her scroll but not letting him see who she was texting or what she was talking about. It was peculiar for his partner to be the secretive type (and she wasn’t usually so good at keeping secrets) but the next thing he knew she was leading him excitedly to their room. When she swung the door open, he was greeted by Ren and Nora standing over a borrowed table with four chairs and a cake.

“Happy birthday, Jaune!” All three of his teammates cheered, as well as team RWBY, who had snuck out of their dorm just as they opened the door. Jaune took a moment to process what was happening before his eyes brimmed with tears.

“You guys!”

Ren had managed to make the tastiest cake that Jaune had ever had; sure, it was like the cake his mom used to make but it was somehow even better than he remembered; the entire time the other boy looked at him with a proud smile and a glow in his pink eyes that made Jaune’s face a little warm. 

“Thanks, Ren. This was...amazing.” Jaune eventually said, while the girls all went across the hall for a moment and giggled about something, but he wasn’t paying attention to them. Ren nodded, a small pink hue rising on his cheeks.

“Thank you. I wanted to try baking a cake like my mother used to. She used to bake them for friends and family all the time.” The shorter boy explained, looking away from Jaune. The tall blonde sighed and nodded; he was well aware by now that he and Nora were orphans and had been for a long time. 

“Was it...hard?” Jaune asked, biting his lip as a lump formed in his throat. A tinge of guilt came up, hoping that he hadn’t brought out any sad feelings in his teammate. But Ren immediately looked back at him, shaking his head.

“No, no. Not at all. I like baking and cooking in general,” Ren clarified, smiling a bit again, “It’s one way I uphold her memory. Keeping her with me, even all this time later.”

“That’s...beautiful.” Jaune softly spoke. Ren looked down again, his face getting even redder.  _ He’s so cute, _ a part of Jaune thought deep down, his own face feeling a bit warm now. Then they heard footsteps, the two of them turning to see Nora stealing another slice of cake.

“What? You two are having a cute moment and there’s still plenty of cake left.” Nora reasoned. Jaune’s face flushed completely and Ren covered his own face, chuckling.

In the end, Jaune managed to save a little cake for later (Ren managed to talk Nora into not eating all of it by promising pancakes), but if he was being honest to himself, it was really the thought that his teammates and Ren especially had had that made him feel warm inside. He didn’t know what to expect when he came to Beacon; finding a new family was something he never would have bet on. But when he had that last slice, all he could think about, his face warm, was the smile on Ren’s face as he’d eaten the first one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I'm going with Jaune's birthday being Feb 29th because I think it's as adorable as it is funny.


	3. New Abilities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren can tell, maybe better than anyone else, that something's wrong with Jaune.

Jaune hadn’t been himself since the fall of Beacon. But the surface level of grief that Jaune displayed, Ren could tell, was nothing compared to what was beneath the surface. When your semblance was the ability to hide away negative emotions, one tended to develop the ability to read them. But Ren, whenever he was close to Jaune, was starting to  **feel** them. The anger,  _ rage _ , guilt, sorry, heartbrokenness that Jaune was trying so hard to hide from the three of them, Ren had felt it all whenever he was close enough.

And since the encounter at Haven Academy with Cinder and the rest of Salem’s underlings, he could feel the more extreme of Jaune’s hidden emotions even more. He was managing to bottle them up well enough not to attract Grimm to where they’d bunkered down, thankfully, but the confrontation he had had with Cinder stuck out in Ren’s mind, repeating. That one instance of Jaune letting out that rage, that anger, at the one who had taken his partner, their teammate and friend from them--Ren was scared.

He had been worried about Jaune, but now he was terrified that another incident like that was going to cause them to lose Jaune, too. Ren did not want to lose Jaune, he had lost too much already because of these people, this situation they had all been dragged into by the cruel hand of destiny. The idea of losing someone else, especially someone like Jaune, someone who was  _ dear to him _ , made Ren’s heart seize.

Ren was awakened by something; the sense he’d developed overtime alerted him to someone on the roof. He could tell by the surge of emotions, kept at bay for the moment but bubbling dangerously towards spilling outwards, that it was Jaune. Careful not to wake up any of the others, he slipped away and walked up to the roof. Jaune was swinging his sword at a makeshift training dummy, breathing heavily. The recording of Pyrrha’s instructions played as it usually did when Jaune went off to train on his own.

Ren’s heart seized at the sight, his long hair blowing behind him as Jaune sheathed his sword into his shield only to take both and make his even larger sword. Jaune cried out and charged at the dummy, clearly exhausted, not even listening to the voice of his lost partner anymore. Though he cleaved the dummy in half down it’s  _ waist _ , he collapsed onto his knees after.

“You bitch. You  _ bitch! _ ” Jaune cried, slamming his fist onto the rooftop, his tired body trembling as he began to sob. Ren began to approach, but as he got closer, he’d underestimated how on edge his teammate really was. Crocea Mors reverted to its original state but the sword came unsheathed once more as Jaune, not realizing what he was doing, slashed at Ren. Ren had been extending his hand to reach out to Jaune, his palm receiving the blow. The wound was just deep enough to draw blood, and Ren gasped softly. Jaune’s eyes went wide when he realized just what he’d done, and he dropped his sword to the ground.

“Ren...Ren!” Jaune came too, tears pouring from blue eyes as he ran to Ren, the other boy drawing his hand back to inspect the damage. Blood dripped from the wound, something that ordinarily made Jaune sick, but he still ripped a part of the sash he wore to wrap around Ren’s hand, his aura subconsciously reaching out to boost Ren’s self healing.

“Oh gods...oh gods...I hurt you…” Jaune sobbed, holding Ren’s hand with his palm facing upwards in his own trembling hands. Ren breathed deeply, the relatively mild wound stinging. Jaune’s aura overtook him, the tingling warm calming. Ren looked at Jaune, no anger or malice, but worry in his eyes.

“Jaune, it is okay. It’s not that bad. I was--”

“I could have hurt you way worse. Oh gods, what if I killed you? Would I be any better than that monster?!” Jaune cried hysterically, his breathing out of control as hyperventilation was beginning to rear its head. Without hesitating, Ren took Jaune’s other hand in his, his own aura reaching out to his teammates.

“Calm down. I am more worried about you hurting yourself than you hurting me. Please, Jaune.” Ren begged, his own eyes brimming with tears. Their eyes met, their auras mingling, and Ren knew they both could feel everything, the emotions, how scared they both were, how they both saw themselves as dispensable. They didn’t speak for some time, not until Jaune’s breathing had returned to normal and his tears dried, until Ren’s palm had healed as if nothing had happened at all. 

They both stopped sending each other their aura. They still looked at each other, neither sure what to do now. Ren released Jaune’s hands, only to cup his face in them instead. He leaned forward and Jaune met him halfway. It wasn’t the most graceful first kiss, both boys relatively inexperienced in such manners, but all the negative emotions that Ren’s semblance hadn’t swept away were gone afterwards.

“I’m sorry.” Jaune muttered after he reluctantly pulled away. “I didn’t mean to--”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Ren sighed, brushing Jaune’s cheek with his thumb. The taller boy leaned in for another, longer kiss, and Ren’s head spun. He shivered as one of Jaune’s hands ran through his hair and the other ran up his back. But Jaune pulled away, suddenly, and the moment was over just as quickly as it began, the other boy’s downcasted eyes caused Ren to feel himself go completely cold.

“Look...I...I’ll clean up here. You go clean your hand up and go back to bed and we can act like this never happened if you want.” Jaune stammered, suddenly a streak of worry across his features. Ren felt unsure, conflicted, but nodded.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Ren asked. Jaune nodded.

“I’m...I’m fine. I’m just…”  _ I’m not ready yet. _

_ Okay. But...I’ll be here when you are _ . Ren nodded before turning and going back inside. He washed his hands and retreated back to where he had been sleeping before. It would be some time before sleep returned to Ren, his own emotions now the cause of his concerns. But the one thing he was absolutely sure of was wanting to feel Jaune’s lips against his own again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ren's definitely got some extrasensory perception of some kind, it being Empathy is just what I'm rolling with for the sake of this chapter. I certainly like the idea that he can read people's feelings and it lends into his semblance of hiding negative emotions from the Grimm etc.


	4. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was once lost can still be found in a different sort of way.

Kuroyuri had been the first home Ren had ever had. It was a small town where he lived with his parents, not too far from Mistral, and right up until the day it fell, it was a happy place to live. Ren’s memories of his hometown were faint and cloudy now, save the traumatic memory of it’s last day. Returning to it years later to fight the thing responsible for it’s fall had merely provided closure to the loss of lives, not the loss of home that he’d continued to feel.

Beacon Academy had been the next best thing, where he’d met his friends and teammates and where he trained to be a huntsmen. For the first time since his old life in Kuroyuri, Ren had begun to let his guard down again, no longer feeling the need to constantly watch his and Nora’s backs (save on field missions, with the additions of watching Pyrrha’s and Jaune’s as well). Then he felt the shift in energy around the Vytal Festival, and then before he could figure out what was happening, Beacon had fallen, and again, he’d lost his home.

Jaune left home to become a huntsman. Having been sheltered his entire life, parents overbearingly insisted that he didn’t have to be a hunter, he was the baby of the family, there was no need. He stole his great grandfather’s sword and shield, had a friend help him forge his entry papers into Beacon Academy and left home, only leaving behind a note for his mother. He didn’t know if he would ever see his parents again, but he knew in his heart being a huntsman like his father, grandfather, great grandfather, and so forth, was what he really wanted.

He didn’t know how great of a place Beacon Academy would really be for him; the team he was initially reluctant to lead would become another family that he never knew he needed. He had to learn everything as he went along, but he was in the right hands, as all of his friends helped him become more than the sheltered wannabe he’d been when he arrived. For the first time in his life, Jaune was actually starting to feel confident. Then, Beacon fell, Pyrrha died, and Jaune fell apart.

It was at Argus, in Jaune’s sister’s house, one night. Nora had long since dozed off on the bed the three of them were sharing in the guest room, exhausted from playing with Jaune’s nephew all afternoon, and was softly snoring. The two boys lay together on the bed next to her, Jaune sitting up resting his back on the backrest and Ren laying his head across his lap. Jaune’s fingers ran through the layered, silky locks of Ren’s hair, the other boy gently humming. He inhaled sharply and shuddered when Jaune boldly traced a fingertip along the edge of his earlobe, but no further bolder moves were made. 

Somewhere between where Beacon fell and the time together in Argus, the three remaining members of team JNPR had become even closer than they had before, the two boys especially. There was a boundary that neither had been aware of before, but now the combined losses and fears they both shared brought that wall down. Now, Ren had his head in Jaune’s lap, and Jaune was running his fingers through his hair.

Ren turned so he was facing up, looking into Jaune’s eyes with his eyes drooping a bit, the late night dragging down both of their energy levels. Jaune peered into pink and saw someone who trusted him explicitly, though he still wasn’t sure he deserved such trust.

“I feel...at home with you.” Ren murmured softly, his expression softening. Jaune bit his lip and stroked Ren’s cheek.

“Me too.” He whispered. The two of them smiled, and Ren sat up to lean forward and kiss Jaune softly. They kissed for several moments until they heard Nora’s snoring ending in a snort. They looked down at her, one of her eyes peering open.

“You two are so cute.” She murmured before sleep quickly grabbed her back. The two boys exchanged a glance and soft chuckles.

“We really ought to be asleep too,” Ren stated, “Ruby and the others should be here soon.”

“I...hope so.” Jaune sighed. They’d been separated from their friends for days, and of course, Jaune worried as he did. Ren kissed his cheek, snapping him from the worries that threatened his current state of peace.

“You want the middle tonight?” Ren offered. Jaune nodded, shuffling to lie down closer to Nora, who in her sleep latched onto Jaune’s back like a koala. Ren lay with his back to Jaune’s chest, reaching over to turn off the one lamp on the bedside table they’d kept on until then.

“Goodnight, Jaune.” Ren said softly before a yawn, and within moments he’d too fallen asleep. Between his two teammates, Jaune slowly fell asleep as well, words he wasn’t ready to say just yet on the tip of his tongue.


	5. First Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Beacon Doesn't Fall AU) The Boys go to a sushi restaurant with an arcade for their first date. Fluff ensues.

“You two should just go out together tonight,” Pyrrha said to Jaune. “Us girls are going to have a game night with team RWBY anyway.”

It wasn’t a bad idea, and Jaune went with it, asking Ren a bit later if he would like to accompany him to Vale that afternoon, while the girls hung out with RWBY. Ren seemed taken aback at first, and Jaune was sure he’d be turned down until a glow rose on Ren’s cheeks.

“Alright, then.” Ren had said, softly, accepting Jaune’s offer. Jaune almost jumped for joy at the acceptance, but contained himself well enough to just nod and give Ren a time for them to be ready by, around the time Pyrrha and Nora would venture across the hall for the girl’s game night. Jaune picked out a hoodie (not his pullover black Pumpkin Pete one, but a zip-up yellow one instead with Beacon printed on it) and some jeans. It was autumn, so sweaters were necessary.

He’d never seen Ren in casual clothes before, so the tight black jeans and boots with the button up green shirt was quite the sight to behold. Ren had even tied his hair back in a high ponytail, something he didn’t usually do. Jaune couldn’t help how fast his heart started beating, his face heating up. He stammered, trying to speak, give a compliment, anything.

“Shall we get going, then?” Ren asked, smiling softly at him.

“Y-yeah.” Jaune agreed, double checking to make sure he’d remembered the blue motion sickness bracelet Pyrrha had gotten for him (just in case). The two boys started down the hall when he heard the girls giggle and cheer behind them.

“Have fun on your date!” Nora teased. They both blushed, not looking at each other.

“Thanks.” Jaune muttered.

Once off the airship (Jaune internally thanked Pyrrha again for the bracelet) Jaune led Ren to where they agreed to go to eat; a sushi restaurant called Neo-Edo that Coco had suggested after having taken Velvet there a while ago. Jaune was a bit skeptical about sushi but Ren had reassured him that it was far more than just raw fish and rice. And Jaune figured trying something new would impress the other, which he’d desperately wanted to do tonight. Also, it having an arcade in the downstairs area from the main restaurant was an appealing pull for the both of them.

Ren and Jaune entered the restaurant side by side, the hostess cheerfully greeting them and leading them to a table; for a Saturday it wasn’t too crowded, so the wait for a table for two had been minimal. The neon lighting was a change from the late afternoon sunlight, and was a bit easier on the eyes, as the two were seated in a booth seat just big enough for the two of them, not too far from the giant fish tank at the center of the restaurant.  
“That’s not the fish they use for the sushi, right?” Jaune asked. Ren shook his head and smiled.  
“No, I don’t believe those fish would be good for eating anyway.” Ren pointed out. The menus were handed to them and they ordered something to drink (a cola for Jaune and Ren wanted some iced green tea with mango). Jaune carefully surveyed the menu in hopes that he could find something that wasn’t just raw fish.  
“They put an egg in sushi?” He asked, spotting the word Egg under a menu.  
“Fish eggs.” Ren replied, smirking a bit. Jaune grimaced. Eventually Ren helped him pick out two rolls, California and shrimp tempura, while Ren ordered avocado maki and something called a Shogun Roll. The food took only mere moments to be prepared and brought to them. Jaune tried both of his rolls slowly; the shrimp tempura was nice but he actually found he preferred the california roll a bit.   
“Would you like to try some of mine?” Ren asks, giving a sweet smile to Jaune and pointing to the shogun roll with his chopsticks. Jaune nodded, his face flushing a bit (thankfully obscured by the dim lighting.

“What’s in it again?” Jaune asked.

“It’s fried spicy tuna, green onion and avocado, and it’s got some crab on top and unagi sauce.” Ren explained. Jaune nodded, swallowing a bit; he didn’t normally partake in spicier foods, but he’d do anything to impress Ren. Ren picked up a segment of the roll perfectly with his chopsticks.

“Open wide.” Ren said, placing a hand under Jaune’s chin. He was sure the dim lights weren’t hiding his blush anymore as Ren fed the sushi to him with his chopsticks. He’d barely overheard some girls giggle from another table over the electropop that played. The sushi in question was a spicy, spicy mouthful but Jaune ate it without objections like a champ, right up until he took a large sip of his soda.  
“Too spicy?” Ren asked, a hint of teasing.

“A bit.” Jaune admitted.  
“Don’t be embarrassed. You were willing to give it a try. I like that about you.” Ren said, eyes darting downwards for a moment. Jaune smiled.

“You’re cute.” Jaune said. Ren smiled. Their free hands met across the table, fingers locking together. More giggling and “aww”s were heard front the other table, and from the corner of his eye Jaune could tell they were younger, probably still in primary combat school. He snapped his attention back to Ren when the other boy cleared his throat.

“Pay no mind to giggling schoolgirls, now.” Ren teased.

“You have my undivided attention.” Jaune murmured, lowering his voice and smirking when Ren couldn’t hide a visible shiver.

They finished their meal and paid, and the two ventured down the stairs to the arcade area. After showing the receipt of their meal to an employee at the entrance, they were allowed to enter (those who just wanted to go to the arcade paid a small entry fee). For a restaurant’s basement, there was a decent collection of shooters, fighting games, even a motorcycle racing game, but there was one machine that Ren wanted to go to, and Jaune followed him. 

The restaurant had a game called Dance Riot, a large screen with two metal pads in front of it with directional steps. Loud techno music blared from speakers atop the screen and a lighted sign with the game’s logo on it. Jaune couldn’t help but be amused by how there was a bit more energy to Ren’s step as they approached the machine.

“I first played one of these a few years back. Me and Nora’s foster parents were kind enough to let us go down to the marina and they had a few arcade machines. One of them was one of the first Dance Riot games, and me and Nora would play until we got too tired.” Ren explained, turning to Jaune and smiling. His eyes downcast, as if a bit embarrassed by his enthusiasm. Jaune chuckled softly.

“Don’t be embarrassed, it’s nice that there’s something that you can look back fondly on after everything you and Nora went through, y’know. Even if it’s something some would find childish like a game.” Jaune explained, wrapping an arm around Ren’s shoulder.  
“Or a cereal mascot.” Ren added, smirking up at Jaune. In return, the taller blonde playfully pouted and huffed.

“You leave Pumpkin Pete out of this.” Jaune challenged. The two of them laughed, and Ren softly brushed his hand up Jaune’s back. Then, Ren stepped onto the machine, inserted some coins, and motioned for Jaune to join him.  
“I’ve never played one of these before.” Jaune spoke hesitantly. Ren leaned over the bar on the back of the dance pads and pulled him closer.  
“It’s really not too difficult. I’ll show you.” Ren offered, pleading for Jaune to join him with an alluring look to his eyes. With a sigh, a hopelessly lovesick Jaune relented. They played three rounds, Jaune needing to play on a much lower difficulty setting than Ren was at first, Ren giving him tips (“hold onto the bar so you don’t fall over” for example). By the third go, Jaune had managed to go up one level of difficulty and managed to finish the whole round without failing out. Ren rewarded his efforts with a two-handed high five. 

They tried a few other games; they were equally matched at shooting and racing, but Ren managed to have the upperhand at most of the fighting games. There was even a small crane machine with some rubber ducks inside. Jaune won one for Ren that looked more like a duck than a frog, but Ren smiled and placed it into the pocket of his black jeans.

Curfew was fast approaching, so they had to leave and head back to the airship dock before the last one left. After a brief run, they just made it in time, though all of the seats were taken, so Jaune and Ren both clung to one of the poles passengers could cling to. Breathlessly, the two stood closer to each other, looking at each other. At some point a spot of turbulence caused Jaune to wrap his free arm around Ren’s waist. Ren at another point leaned his head on Jaune’s shoulder. They entire school could have been staring at them at that moment, and neither of them would have cared.

They walked hand in hand back to their dorm room, talking their time to enjoy the crisp air and clear sky and each other’s company. They didn’t speak until they’d made it back, and evidently by Pyrrha’s loud laughter and Nora shouting about how Weiss was clearly cheating, the girls were still going to be a while at their game night. Jaune looked to Ren, who peered away from Jaune with a slight blush on his face. Jaune smiled, lifting Ren’s chin with his hand.

“Would it be cool...if I kissed you?” Jaune asked.

“...yes.” Ren accepted, placing both his hands on Jaune’s cheeks as the other boy leaned down and kissed him softly. Ren’s lips felt softer than his own and he tasted a little like what must have been the tea he’d had at the restaurant. Things faded away around them for a moment until a squeal interrupted.

“OH MY GOSH!” Ruby shouted, jumping in the doorway of her team’s dorm, “OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!”  
“It’s about time, sheesh~” Nora called out, sitting on Pyrrha’s lap on the floor, the taller redhead giggling with her arms around the smaller girl’s waist. Yang and Blake clapped from their shared position on the floor and Weiss shook her head at the shenanigans of the other girls.

“Oh, shut up.” Jaune muttered, rolling his eyes and holding Ren more tightly. Ren chuckled, hiding his blushing face in Jaune’s chest. Once all the commotion was over, the boys retreated into the dorm room so Ruby could make her snack run for the girls (and so the rest of the girls would stop heckling them to kiss again). Once the embarrassment passed, Jaune shrugged.

“What do you wanna do now?” Jaune asked. 

“What do  _ you _ want to do?” Ren reversed the question, tilting his head and smirking. Jaune pulled him in for another kiss.


	6. Freshmen (Modern AU)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Jaune first day of classes at Beacon University when he meets a cute boy drawing in his sketchbook outside the cafeteria.

It was Jaune’s first day at Beacon University, and though it was an hour and a half early for his first class, he’d left his dorm room so he could get a feel of the campus. There were four large buildings and two smaller buildings, including the administrative building. He’d gone there to pick up his schedule a few weeks ago; most of his classes were afternoon, save one morning class that thankfully didn’t start for another week. Thankfully a map of the campus had also been supplied but he didn’t completely understand all of it. 

There was a small building at the center of campus called Campus Commons, where the cafeteria, bookstore, and a few offices were located. He’d eaten breakfast before coming, but if he was being honest with himself, Jaune was feeling a bit snacky, so he headed inside the building, walking through the sliding glass doors as they opened. The cafeteria was to his right and he entered, seeing a somewhat crowded room where booths were taken by cliques and everyone was loudly conversating. Jaune, intimidated by the sheer number of people crowding the tables and booths, veered right into where the food stations were.

They seemed to have all kinds of things; a waffle station, premade sandwiches, a burger grill, a wide variety of snacks on shelves and drinks in fridges, as well as coffee machines and hot water dispensers. Jaune bought some salt and vinegar chips and a can of cola and decided he’d go sit outside of the cafeteria at one of the outdoor tables. There didn’t seem to be anyone there, save someone who drew his attention.

The other young man was doodling in his sketchbook, long black hair obscuring his face; he noticed a streak of pink along one side. He was wearing a dark green top with half-length sleeves and three buttons at the collar, the uppermost one open, showing the other boy’s collarbone. He wore black jeans, torn at one knee, and converse sneakers much like the ones Jaune was wearing himself. There was a coffee cup on one side of the sketchbook and he occasionally paused to type something on his phone, texting someone. Deep brown eyes suddenly peered up at Jaune and his mouth went dry.

Jaune had only crushed on another guy once in high school, back in his hometown, but didn’t make any moves because he didn’t have the nerve. And honestly, not even that boy held a candle to the gorgeous guy in front of him.

“Uh, hi.” Jaune said, smiling awkwardly at the other guy.

“Hi.” The stranger said, setting the book down and brushing his hair from his face.  _ Gods, he really is handsome _ .

“Would you...like some company?” Jaune asked. The other boy shrugged his shoulders and gestured for Jaune to sit across the stone table from him. Jaune accepted the offer and sat on the cold bench. He shivered, but tried to play it cool, placing his newly bought food items on the table.

“I’m Jaune, by the way.” The blonde introduced himself.

“Call me Ren.” The brown-eyed boy with the pink streak in his hair said softly, picking up the hot drink cup and taking a sip; Jaune noticed a green tea bag still sticking out of it. 

“So, you here by yourself?” Jaune asks, an awkward attempt at conversation.

“My friend was here just a moment ago, but she has a cardio kickboxing class that doesn’t end until after my first class starts.” Ren explained, returning to his sketching; Jaune couldn’t see what he was sketching because it was angled away from him. 

“You have friends already? Lucky.” Jaune said, looking down; this was the first conversation with another student he’d had so far. In fact he didn’t even have a roommate yet in the dorms, evidently the roommate he was supposed to have got an apartment off campus at the last minute. 

“Actually, we’ve been close since we were kids. Though it’d be difficult to tell, she and I are like polar opposites.” Ren explained, looking up at Jaune, but then back down again. (Was he blushing? Jaune couldn’t tell with his hair back over his face.)

“How so?” Jaune asked. Ren smiled.

“She’s very...energetic. And her favorite color is pink.”

“I see.” Jaune said, brushing his fingers through his hair; he’d gotten it cut shorter before his move to campus. Deciding it was time to eat the snacks he bought, he opened his soda, taking a quick swig (pausing because the carbonation was a bit strong), then opened his chips. Jaune pointed the open bag to the other boy.

“Want some?” he offered. The other boy shook his head.

“I’m alright, thank you.”

“So, are you an art major?” Jaune asked.

“I’m a freshman so I haven’t determined that yet, but I’m considering it as a minor at least, and I think I want to be a psychology major.” Ren explained, looking up at Jaune and placing down his pencil. Jaune didn’t realize his fingernails had been painted until then; black, like his outfit.

“What about you? Have you decided on a major just yet?” Ren asked him.

“No...honestly I only picked this school to get away from my small hometown and my overbearing parents.” Jaune muttered. Ren nodded.

“I know a thing or two about that. My mom was pretty worried about me leaving Kuroyuri to go here, but once she found out Nora was going here too she relaxed.” Ren explained.

“Nora being your bestie?” Jaune asked. Ren nodded again, smiling.

“That is what Nora likes to call us.” Ren said, and went to add to it before an alarm on his phone went off.

“Oh, I’ve got class in fifteen minutes.” The other boy sighed, closing his sketchbook and beginning to pack his things back into his shoulder bag.

“Really?” Jaune checked his wristwatch. “Me too. Where’s your class?”

“The big lecture hall. Yours?”

“Same. Don’t tell me, it’s Introduction to Valian Literature?”

“...it is. How coincidental.” The two boys smiled and chuckled slightly.   
“Well, we’re going in the same direction anyway. May as well walk together. You know where we’re going? I’m having the hardest time reading this map.” Jaune asked.

“I’ll show you as we walk.” Ren told Jaune, and the two of them began to make their way across campus to the building; the largest next to the sports center. A small group of girls waved to Ren along the way, including a girl in a red hoodie that looked a bit young for college, but Jaune didn’t have the time to ask questions.

“I’ll introduce you to them later. They’re all pretty nice.” Ren told him, and the two of them talked more as they headed towards class. Once they made it to class, they found the room full of long desks with two chairs per table; Jaune and Ren took one of the middle right ones. Jaune attempted to talk to Ren during the lecture but it seemed the other boy was very focused.  _ At least, I think I found a good study buddy for this course,  _ Jaune thought,  _ the fact that he’s cute as hell is a nice bonus, too. _

After the hour and a half class ended and they were given their syllabuses and assigned readings for the first week, the two boys stood in the hall for a moment. Jaune couldn’t linger too long, he had another class, thankfully just one floor up from this one.

“I have another class, but let’s meet up later?” Jaune asked. Ren nodded, smiling. Jaune felt his face heat up at the cute smile the other boy had.

“Sure. Maybe I’ll get to introduce you to Nora. And the others.” Ren said, his cell phone loudly vibrating in his hand.

“That would be great,” Jaune agreed,  _ I really could use the friends _ . The two boys exchanged cell numbers and parted ways, and Jaune bolted up the stairs to the next lecture he had, some kind of remedial math course. He saw the girl in the red hoodie enter the room, so he’d be having that class with her. Yet, he let himself stand outside for a moment and think of the pretty boy he was in the literature course with. 

Jaune was sure he and Ren were going to get to know each other very well in the next four years.


	7. Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (College AU continued) Jaune wants to ask Ren to go out with him, but there's something Ren needs to know about Jaune first.

Jaune was a bundle of jittery nerves as he practically skipped to the one morning class he had; it was halfway through his first semester and he’d made a lot more friends, but one of the friends he’d been spending the most time with was the boy he met on his first day of classes, Ren. More often than not, he was hanging out with him, his roommate Nora, and Jaune’s roommate, a tall athletic redhead named Pyrrha. Sometimes they’d also hang out with Ruby (that girl with the red hoodie, who turned out to have started college two years early, hence her young appearance), her sister Yang, and their roommates Blake and Weiss.

But Ren was the one responsible for his skipping; they’d been hanging out one on one last night and the two of them had had a moment; Ren had held his hand. They’d met eyes, and if Nora hadn’t come to meet them in the library, he was pretty sure they would’ve kissed. Yes, Jaune had developed a pretty heavy crush on the boy. He wanted to ask Ren out so badly, and wanted him to be his boyfriend. 

Yet there was one thing he had to tell Ren about before he could; remembering caused him to pause his skipping. Something he hadn’t told anyone else yet, save Pyrrha, as he couldn’t exactly hide certain parts of his morning routine from her (she was accepting and even helpful if he needed a hand, though). But that was why he’d made arrangements to meet up with Ren later that afternoon, after they were both done with classes, at the on campus nature trail. Ren needed to take some photographs for his Photography class anyway, plus it was secluded enough that he could reasonably expect at least some privacy.

“There you are.” Ren said, still wearing the hoodie Jaune had lent him a few days back; a black hoodie with a frog on it. His hair was tied into a braid, undoubtedly Nora’s doing. Jaune had changed into a crew neck sweater and brushed his hair, wanting to at least look presentable.

“Sorry I’m late, just had to take care of one or two things before we met up.” Jaune muttered, scratching his head. Ren gave him a smile then led them through the trail, bushes and trees lined up along the grassy path. There didn’t seem to be anyone else along the trail, not even joggers, but given how it was mid-autumn, it wasn’t too surprising Jaune supposed. Once they’d reached a seated area; a make-shift outdoor classroom with benches lined in rows.

Jaune sat and watched Ren set up his camera, attaching the lens to it and watching as the other boy snapped photos around them, of trees and little flowers and of some birds that flew overhead. Jaune pulled his knees to his chest and watched him work fondly, smiling when Ren lit up when he found something new. After he’d taken at least 50 photos, Ren joined him on the bench, undoing his camera. The two sat in silence for a bit before Jaune lowered his legs over the bench again and reached over, taking Ren’s hand in his own.

“I...I like you.” Jaune admitted. Ren looked up at him and smiled.

“I like you, too.” Ren said back. With his free hand, Ren brushed his bangs behind his ear. “Are you asking me out?”

“I want to…” Jaune trailed off before taking a deep breath. “But there’s something I want you to know first.” 

“What is it?” Ren said, looking at Jaune with a concerned look. Jaune felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest, but he didn’t look away from Ren.

“I...I’m trans.” Jaune confessed, voice hushed. “I’m transgender, and I wanted you to know that because if you don’t want to date me because of that--”

Ren kissed him on the lips, softly. It was a sudden move and their noses bumped a little, but Jaune returned it, pressing firmly back. It was the first time he’d ever kissed another guy and his nerves fizzled like fireworks in his stomach and legs. He realized Ren’s hands had cupped his face when he pulled away.

“You...don’t care?” Jaune murmured, blinking back tears.

“Of course I don’t. I really like you, Jaune.” Ren whispered, pressing his forehead against Jaune’s. “Besides, I’m nonbinary.” 

“Oh! That’s...that’s really cool.” Jaune breathed, wiping at his eyes. “Can we kiss again?”

“As many times as you’d like to.” Ren said, smiling at him.

So, Ren became Jaune’s paramour (he asked to be sure what title they preferred, and also Ren specified while he/him pronouns were okay, he preferred they/them a bit more) and the two of them walked hand and hand back to the east dormitory building, where their roommates were waiting for them with take-out already having been delivered. They would come to find Nora and Pyrrha had started dating that day as well, and the four of them all had a laugh about it. They resolved that every year on that shared anniversary they’d order take-out and watch movies together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing something like this (someone coming out as trans) and I hope I did so respectfully. I'm nonbinary/demigirl myself so I hope I managed alright.
> 
> Anyway, this concludes this week of fics! Thanks for reading!


End file.
